


The Bullet and The Blade

by OneForMischief



Series: The Misadventures of Darcy Lewis and Agent Not-So-Dead [4]
Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (2012), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Adoption, Argentina, BAMF Darcy Lewis, Bast/Agent 108, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Girls with Guns, Guns, Howard Stark/Bast, Knives, Multi, One-Sided Relationship, Phil Coulson/Women With Issues, Rachel Lewis/Michael Lewis, Red Room, SHIELD, SHIELD Agent Darcy Lewis, SHIP DARCY WITH ALL THE THINGS, Super Soldier Serum, The Author Regrets Nothing, one-sided Phil Coulson/Natasha Romanov, past Natasha Romanov/Winter Soldier, winter soldier - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-05
Updated: 2013-04-26
Packaged: 2017-12-07 13:44:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 12,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/749183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OneForMischief/pseuds/OneForMischief
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Oh, you're all going to hate me now.</p>
        </blockquote>





	1. Hello Again

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sinope](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sinope/gifts), [mae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mae/gifts).



Upon landing, Darcy wanders through the airport a bit aimlessly until she spots a sign for the lockers. She had already memorized their location, but realized on the flight that she doesn’t look like the sort of person who memorizes these things.

She turns the dial right, then left, and then right again, smiling as she opens the lock. 93-3-93.

* * *

 

Four minutes later, a brunette in lightweight medium-quality nylon cargo pants, sturdy hiking boots, and a Columbia shirt leaves the bathroom, wearing sunglasses and tying her hair up as she goes. She has a somewhat worn backpack slung over her shoulders, complete with a filtered water bottle in each side pocket.

* * *

 

There is an unknown variable involved in having used her badge to get her gun into the country, which is that there’s a chance that Argentinian authorities have been tipped off. She trusts Victor, though she couldn’t explain it if she tried – or perhaps wouldn’t, because he trusts her, too, in his way – but the Russians who brought James here couldn’t have pulled it off without some level of local cooperation.

Darcy doesn’t bother to guess at the slim odds that someone at the airport was important enough to know about him. There are no odds small enough for her to take the risk.

* * *

 

Her Spanish is, she hopes, charmingly rusty. Months of studying Russian in secret while trying to learn functional Yoruba seem wasted now. Here in the hustle and bustle of Maiquetía, her high school Spanish book would be worth more than all of that effort.

After an hour of vague inquiries, she manages to figure out that she can take a bus from a few blocks away to Los Dos Caminos, which will get her closer to the base of the mountain, but she’ll have to wait until morning. As desperately as she wants to reach him, it’s her only option unless she wants to deal with a car rental or –

“Car rental,” she murmurs. “Why did I think of bus before _car rental_?”

* * *

 

A quick walk back to the airport, a thirty minute wait, and thirteen hundred dollars later, she takes off for the base of the mountain.

* * *

 

“I’m two kilometers away from him,” she says as soon as Jarvis connects her.

“That’s great.”

“Yeah, I’m hoping I’ll have him out and be ready to go in under twelve hours, if this goes well. I just wanted to thank you, again, and let you know that I might not have reception for most of this. I’ll call when I can.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

* * *

 

Five minutes later, she gets out of the car in her full SHIELD uniform, complete with boots and holster. It’s been nearly a year since she last wore it, but there’s no time for nostalgia.

She needs to get moving.

* * *

 

Hiking through the Argentinian jungle just past three in the morning makes Darcy think of the night she found Abeni, which in turn makes her think of Shuri. She would love this – the danger, the secrecy, and the jungle.

Darcy pauses, reaching down to pull the knife from her right boot. She holds it flat across her palms and watches as the compass in the handle settles, then nods and sheaths the blade again. She points herself a little more to the west and resumes her hike.

* * *

 

It’s nearly six when she gets close to the hidden entrance, judging by the amount of sunlight that has begun streaming through the trees.

She can’t be more than a hundred yards away from it when she hears a rustling noise to her right. It’s close, too close, and she ducks behind a tree. In the time it takes her to draw a breath, she has her gun in her right hand and a knife in her left. Remaining perfectly still, she listens as the sound gets closer and closer, until it’s right next to her, and then someone pushes through the brush and she lowers her gun in surprise.

“ _Phil?_ ”

 


	2. Handcuffs, Bobby Pin, Gun, Knife (Part One)

 “Fancy meeting you here,” Darcy says quietly after the two of them stare at each other for a moment that stretches on too long to be comfortable.

“You’re my junior agent – I didn’t have much choice,” he replies.

 “I found him, Phil. _Bucky Barnes,_ just like my report said. We can have him back in New York and out of debriefing by New Year’s if none of us get shot,” she grins.

Phil gives no answer except for something in his eyes that looks like either distance or resignation, but he doesn’t need to. There are handcuffs on his belt.

“You aren’t the only SHIELD agent here, Agent Three,” she points out, taking a step back. “Those cuffs aren’t standard for a rescue mission.”

“I’m here to take you back to Chicago, Darcy.”

“I hope you meant to say ‘you and Sergeant Barnes’.”

“You were told to scrap –“

“I was told that it was _optional_ , as in _one option out of at least two_. Did you really come all the way to door of the fucking lab to tell me to turn around and come home? Really, Phil? I would have thought that knowing who he -”

“Can we please discuss this a little farther away from said door?” he asked in an irritated whisper, and it flips a switch inside Darcy. She turns in the direction of the entrance, just enough that he won’t notice her slipping a bobby pin out of her hair as she brushes her bangs aside, and sighs.

“Fine. Lead the way, boss.”

* * *

 

They don’t speak for nearly an hour, during which Phil thinks about ways to convince her that leaving is acceptable and Darcy tries to decide how far down the mountain they need to be before she does what she’s thinking of doing. They keep getting delayed by her lack of balance – it’s not easy to make this descent with your hands cuffed behind your back – and she needs all of the distance she can get.

_‘Handcuffs, bobby pin, gun, knife,’_ her brain supplies, and she almost rolls her eyes at her own lack of helpfulness. She’s been having the dreams for months; she wouldn’t forget now.

* * *

 

Twenty more minutes pass, during which she employs and discards her pin.

“I have a question.”

“Yes?” he calls over his shoulder, not slowing down.

“Why did you only want to apologize to one of them?”

There’s the stop she was looking for. Phil turns and faces her head on, looking genuinely startled by the question.

“What are you talking about?”

“You crushed Tony Stark, you took away any sense of security Pepper Potts managed to build for herself, or so I’ve been told, Thor has effectively lost his brother, and you were the closest thing to a father Clint Barton ever had. I don’t know how Dr. Banner or Steve handled your ‘death’, but still, that’s at least four other people who were devastated by it, and you only wanted to apologize to Natasha. Why is that?” she asks, keeping her tone a little harsh under the false curiosity.

“We talked about this, she doesn’t –“

“The thing is, she does forgive. The Hulk tried to kill her and nearly succeeded, and she forgave him enough to – oh, did you know she married Dr. Banner? Not that long before you cancelled my mission, I believe,” she smiles, dropping the handcuffs.

He’s fast, but she’s faster, and he’s got the disadvantage of having had no idea what was coming.

Neither of them is particularly surprised when her bullet hits its mark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, you're all going to hate me now.


	3. Handcuffs, Bobby Pin, Gun, Knife (Part Two)

**_Argentina- El Ávila National Park_ **

“I can’t believe you shot me,” he groans.

“I said I was sorry, Phil,” Darcy says, bending down next to him and unfastening his holster. “But you – any other weapons? No? Anyway, you can’t send the girl you’re fucking off to risk her life in not one but _three_ foreign countries and rescue a brainwashed super-assassin from the most secretive spy organization in the world just so you can apologize to the woman you’ve got a crush on and _not_ expect to get shot for it eventually.”

She pulls the knife back out of her boot and takes a deep breath before she brings it up to her arm and tries to judge the best place to cut.

“You’re going to have to cut some of the muscle,” Phil says through his teeth.

“I was afraid of that,” Darcy murmurs, and then he reaches out and grabs her hand.

“You’re right; I was never going to let you go after him. Come on, it’ll distract me from the hole in my ankle.”

Darcy squeezes his fingers, slices into her arm, and hopes that someday they’ll be able to laugh about how ridiculous they must look.

* * *

 

**_Chicago – SHIELD Headquarters_ **

Joanna Vasquez, who is a great many things, among which ‘reliable’ is in the top three, is at the office and connected to SHIELD’s secure server at five in the morning. The day after Christmas tends to be twice as busy as most, which she attributes to criminals needing to blow off steam after spending the day with their extended families.

At exactly seven, Clive Barclay steps out of the elevator and says “How’s the world, Joanna?”

At seven-oh-one, she starts to answer and is cut off when the red flashing lights and alarms go off throughout the office. She turns back to her computer and enters an override code followed by the tracer number.

At this point, a box pops up. Strictly speaking, Agent Vasquez has been directly ordered by Agents One, Two, and Three to enter the standard ‘ClosestTeam’ and let the computer do the rest.

This is not what she does, of course.

* * *

 

**_New York City – Stark Tower_ **

Tony has just left the lab and journeyed up to the common area, trying to decide between going to bed and talking one of the early risers into sparring with him, even though he’d lose, when the red lights go off. He groans and looks upward, hoping it isn’t anything too slimy this time.

“Full Avengers assembly requested immediately. Emergency extraction of SHIELD Agent 93. Details and coordinates have been uploaded to the Quinjet.”

“Jarvis, tell Steve to bring his sketchbook. Tell him it’s the Director’s orders,” Tony says, running for the elevator. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so excited about things being in really fast motion now!


	4. Staying the Course

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If Google translations are wrong, please let me know!
> 
> Он был прямо передо мной все это время – He was right in front of me all this time
> 
> У вас не было возможности узнать, - You had no way of knowing

**_Avenger’s Quinjet, Somewhere Over New York_ **

Natasha runs her fingers over the sketch again.

“Он был прямо передо мной все это время,” she murmurs.

“У вас не было возможности узнать,” Tony insists.

 “How did you know about this?” Steve asks with a sigh, leaning towards Tony like he can’t hold himself up under the weight of Natasha’s revelation.

“That’s the other thing you all need to know…Darcy Lewis is Agent 93.”

Clint looks up at him, eyes dark, and when he speaks, he speaks to Jarvis.

“J, call Shuri.”

* * *

 

**_Argentina- El Ávila National Park_ **

Phil ties the strip of his shirt tightly around her upper arm as they kiss, knowing that it's the last time and trying not to laugh or cry when she bites down on his lip. When she pulls away, there are tears in her eyes, too.

“I really loved you, for a minute there. Before I knew,” she tries to smile, wiping her cheeks.

“I love you too, that’s why I –“

“No, Phil. I’m never going to be able to believe it now, so please don’t say it. Joanna will get someone to you as fast as she can, and you’ll be okay. I’ve got to go finish this.”

* * *

 

**_The Helicarrier – Location Undisclosed_ **

“Sir, she was refusing to give up on a mission that her superior –“

“That her superior agent should not have been supervising, Agent Hill,” Nick growls, typing furiously on one of the control panels.

“According to Agent Vasquez, sir, and if I may –“

“You may not. Agent Vasquez is a highly distinguished field agent, and I have trusted her with my life on more occasions than I care to count.”

“Excuse me, Director Fury, Agent Hill,” Agent Sitwell says, approaching with a concerned look. “You were right, sir - Agent Three has gone. Agent Barclay confirms that he is not in his hotel and the tracker in his phone indicates that it’s in close proximity to Agent 93’s rental car.”

“Agent Hill, if he dies, you are going to owe a very good explanation to my new Agent Two for authorizing this. Jasper, set a course for New York. We can’t beat the Avengers to them, but we can be waiting when they get back.”

“If _he_ dies, sir?” Maria asks, trying not to wither at the look the director gives her in response.

“Twenty bucks says she cut the tracker out and threw it on his bleeding body. Agent Lewis understands the concept of staying the course. You might learn something from her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time - Darcy heads off to finish what she's started, Shuri reenters our story, and Joanna Vasquez reveals a secret.


	5. Would You Challenge Bast to a Battle of Wits?

**_Argentina- El Ávila National Park_ **

By the time Darcy reaches the entrance again, it’s nearly nine in the morning. The scrap of Phil’s shirt is covered in blood, but she can’t take the time to do anything about that until after she and James are safe and thinking about it just reminds her of the way it felt when she pulled the trigger.

The doorway is well-hidden, but after a few moments, she notices a small camera tucked into a nearby tree and follows its sightlines to a section of the undergrowth that looks a little too neatly manicured to be a coincidence. She makes quick work of the camera, shooting the lens. It isn’t the most subtle way of going about it, but climbing up there to do it properly is out of the question with a wound in one arm.

If the Red Room’s efficiency during SHIELD’s previous encounters with them are anything to judge by, she needs to work quickly now. She runs from her hiding place and feels along the neat line of the shrubbery until she finds a sturdy metal handle beneath the branches and then pulls it upward, lifting a large wooden door along with the foliage above it. The drop appears to only be around eight feet, so she grabs the handle on the door’s underside and jumps, pulling it shut above her.

Darcy lands fairly gracefully, for once, and she’d laugh about the fact that nobody was around to see it if she weren’t immediately distracted by the absolutely absurd mode of transportation in front of her.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

* * *

 

**_Avengers Quinjet – Somewhere Over the Atlantic Ocean_ **

“You kissed her _on her wedding day._ Unbelievable. You are such an –“

“I’m sorry, did you miss the parts where I told you that she’s a secret agent and your best friend isn’t dead and I’m helping her bring him home? You must have, because you’re focusing on the least important –“

“Shut up,” Natasha growls, standing up. Clint and Bruce both reach a hand out towards her, but the look on her face holds them back.

“Tasha, I didn’t –“

“Shut. Up. Both of you are acting like petty children. One of our friends may be dying right now. You will behave like grown men until she is safe, and then I don’t care what you do,” she orders. 

“He has no respect for commitment,” Steve mutters, shooting Tony a dark look.

Tony wants to clarify that he’s got no respect for commitments _that aren’t his_ , but he thinks better of it and puts his head between his knees.

* * *

 

**_Wakanda – The Airstrip_ **

“Shuri, you cannot just run off after a –“

“Would you call your queen a traitor?” Shuri dares, whirling around to face her mother. “Would you call your king a fool, your daughter a poor judge of character, your priests blind? Would you challenge Bast to a battle of wits and spit on her panthers?”

“If it would keep my children from rushing into danger, yes! Every single day!”

Shuri takes a step backwards when Olu and Yejide move forward in unison, issuing low growls from their throats.

“You have no understanding of the greater good,” she murmurs. “We are not all doomed to die like father, but if we were, I would not let that stop me from living in a way that would make him proud. Come, girls, we have no time to waste.”

* * *

 

**_The Helicarrier – Location Undisclosed_ **

“A pleasure as always, Agent Hill.”

“Agent Vasquez, I’m sorry if I’ve complicated your mission,” the younger woman begins, stopping at a look from Agent Barclay as he climbs out of the helicopter behind Vasquez.

“You are only Agent Two because I have turned the job down half a dozen times, Agent Hill. Do not make this day any worse unless you’d like me to take it next time,” he tells her. “Where’s Nick?”

“Standing in the control bay and terrifying the junior agents,” Joanna tells him. “Where else would he be? Lead the way, Hill.”

* * *

 

**_Argentina- Red Room Laboratory, El Ávila National Park_ **

“Pull the lever, Kronk,” Darcy mutters, taking a deep breath. She draws her gun and goes for the left one, knowing that statistics suggest that the average person would pick the one on the right and hoping that she’s right about the Red Room’s tendency towards punishing any sign of complacency.

The cart takes off at a much more dramatic speed than she had expected, and after three hundred yards it takes a left where a right would have sent her careening into what looks to be a wall covered in metal spikes.

“Good call, Lewis,” she tells herself, but she doesn’t lower the gun.

* * *

 

**_Argentina - El Ávila National Park_ **

Phil Coulson was not a man without regrets before his junior agent and ex something or other shot him in the ankle, but it certainly didn’t lessen them.

He thinks about them in order as he struggles to keep his eyes open – never telling Natasha how he felt about her, never going after the Red Room before Loki nearly killed him, not telling Darcy the truth, letting her slip away. He had had a real chance at love and happiness with her, and he had…not wasted it, truthfully, because she will probably save an innocent man today. It’s just a shame, Phil thinks, that he will probably bleed to death before he can tell her that.

* * *

 

**_The Helicarrier – Location Undisclosed_ **

“I’m going to tell them everything, Nick.”

“Do you have to do it so soon? He’s barely okay with what he’s learned about Howard,” the director sighs.

“He kissed her,” Joanna tells him.

“How do you know – of course. I still manage to forget sometimes,” he says sheepishly.

“It’s the greatest honor you could give me,” she smiles. “But yes, he kissed her, and we can’t keep Howard Stark’s secrets any longer.”

“And if she dies?”

“She won’t. The world isn’t ready to lose her yet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everybody is in motion now! Also, I included an Emperor's New Groove reference, because why not?


	6. Here Goes Nothing

**_Argentina- Red Room Laboratory, El Ávila National Park_ **

Darcy climbs out of the cart with shaking hands, thanking Bast for her inherent love of roller coasters. Even with plenty of experience, the series of terrifying hills and spirals in the darkness nearly made her throw up, and she doesn’t need to give the dehydration she expects to suffer soon a head start.

She is barely on her feet when she spots him.

Surveying the room quickly, she ensures that the coast is clear and then walks up to the large ice block in the center of the cavernous space. It is encased in a metal frame with numerous buttons, a large dial, and a screen on the side which is constantly measuring the vital statistics of the man she knows is held within. She finds a log on a nearby table, open to printouts from nearly an hour ago. Studying the two most recent pages, she notices something odd.

“They’re waking you up,” she gasps, glancing over at the ice block. When she notices the time on the corner of the screen, she looks back at the pages.

The last printout reads 8:30A and the one before reads 7:30A.

The screen reads 9:23.

* * *

 

**_The Helicarrier – Location Un – Oh, Fuck It, They’re In New York_ **

“Can I be the one to break the news?”

Nick looks at Agent Vasquez for a moment before he nods. Clive grins and claps Joanna on the shoulder.

“This is all my happiness, as your Wakandans say. You, playing the game over there! Call the Avengers!”

* * *

 

**_Avengers Quinjet – Somewhere Over Puerto Rico_ **

“Okay, team. We’re less than thirty minutes out and –“

“Excuse me, Captain Rogers, but there is an Agent Barclay on the phone for you,” JARVIS interrupts.

“Put him on speaker, Jarvis,” Steve sighs, running a hand through his hair.

“Captain Rogers?”

“You have the Avengers, sir.”

“Excellent. In that case, hello again, Agents Romanov and Barton. I’ve got a present for you, Natasha.”

“Oh?” Natasha asks, curiosity seeping through where only two years ago she’d have remained ambivalent.

“Special assignment. You get to destroy the Red Room, kid.”

* * *

 

**_Argentina- Red Room Laboratory, El Ávila National Park_ **

Darcy wipes a layer of snow from the ice with her palm, as she has dreamed a hundred times, and finds that his eyes are just the shade of gray she had imagined.

“I will get you out of here,” she promises.

Turning back to the control panel, she takes a few seconds to study the labels.

“Here goes nothing,” she mutters, cranking up the temperature dial. For good measure, she presses the morphine button once.

A few minutes later, the sound of footsteps echoes off of the stone walls and she ducks behind the ice.

* * *

 

**_Avengers Quinjet – Somewhere Over the Caribbean Sea_ **

“Okay, one more time. Tony,” Steve says, pointing to him.

“Find Darcy and her out of danger.”

“Clint.”

“Help you cover any ground that Tony can’t access in the suit.”

“Tasha and Bruce.”

“Destroy the base,” Bruce grins.

“I love it when you’re looking forward to Big Green having a smash fest,” Tony laughs.

“We land in ten, guys,” Steve says, sounding too grim for their liking. Tony bumps his shoulder with the suit and tries to look reassuring.

“We’ve got this, Cap.”

* * *

 

**_New York Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell_ **

“It’s hard to believe it’s been a year and a half since we flew in for Phil,” Joanna says, running her fingers over the details on the arm of her chair.

“We were so certain he wouldn’t make it through the night,” Clive remembers.

“Did we make the right call?” Fury asks.

“Do we ever, Nick?” Joanna laughs.

“This time we are,” he says fiercely. “This time we’re getting it right.”

* * *

 

  ** _Argentina- Red Room Laboratory, El Ávila National Park_**

The doctors are in a panic about the setting changes, but Darcy quickly determines that it’s the fact that nobody should have been in the room that unsettles them and not any danger to their patient.

“Vitals are good, but he will thaw too soon,” a doctor with a beard and a strong Russian accent says.

“Can we slow it down?” The answering man is out of Darcy’s line of sight, but he sounds like a local.

“No, is nearly ready to wake. We must remove the ice before he is at normal body temperature. He would heal fast, but the psychiatrist is not here y–“

He is cut off by a bullet to the head, and then Darcy jumps out from behind the opposite side and shoots the local. Both of them drop instantly, without a sound.

She has never killed anyone before, if Phil is still breathing, and her hands want to shake but she tells them that there’s no time for that now and turns back to James.

“Come on, Barnes. I know you remember me,” she breathes, putting a hand to the quickly melting ice. “There’s nobody here to make you forget. Come on, James. For me.”

His fingers twitch.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is less action-packed than the last one, but all the best stuff happens in seven, eight, and nine, which are written and done, and chuppachups flattered me so much that I'm posting this one early. So.


	7. Quake

**_Argentina - El Ávila National Park_ **

“The signal is close by, but nothing yet,” Clint says into his cell phone, doing a visual sweep of the tree line. “Yeah, of course I will. Stay safe, Shu.”

When he hangs up, he spots Tony shooting him a look.

“What?”

“ _Shu_? She’s practically Darcy’s sister.”

“Doesn’t make her my sister,” the archer grins.

“Just focus on the mission,” Tony says. “Jarvis, scan everything within range.”

* * *

 

**_New York Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell_ **

“She was born here,” Joanna says fondly.

“I remember,” Clive smiles. “You broke two bones in my hand that night.”

“She was the quietest baby I’d ever seen. Still is, really,” Nick smiles.

* * *

 

**_Argentina- Red Room Laboratory, El Ávila National Park_ **

The first chunk of ice falls away just before the guards show up, and she’s too focused on her task to notice. It’s a rookie mistake, but she’s a rookie and nobody can deny that.

Darcy manages to put bullets through the heads of the first two without any trouble, but the third gets a shot off before she realizes that he’s there. He misses her by an inch, hitting the ice next to James’ left hip instead. She shoots him while he’s distracted by the fracture lines forming around the bullet.

Maybe he was a rookie, too.

* * *

 

**_Argentina - El Ávila National Park_ **

“Stand back, Spider,” Bruce smiles at Natasha, squeezing her hand before he lets go and takes a few steps forward.

* * *

 

**_Argentina- Red Room Laboratory, El Ávila National Park_ **

It feels like an earthquake, Darcy thinks as the ice falls away entirely. Unfortunately, a significant portion of the roof comes down with it, and she can hear screaming somewhere above her.

“James!” she shrieks, grabbing him just before he hits the floor. She tugs him upward and lets the metal frame absorb some of the impact.

He’s coming to, but she needs it to happen a little faster, so she slaps him.

When she finds herself pinned to the frame by a metal hand, she realizes that it was maybe not the best idea.

* * *

 

**_Argentina - El Ávila National Park_ **

“Barton, over here!” Tony shouts. “Jarvis has something!”

“The signal appears to be coming from fifty yards uphill, sir,” Jarvis supplies.

“Thanks, J. Scan for body heat.”

* * *

 

**_Argentina- Red Room Laboratory, El Ávila National Park_ **

“James,” Darcy chokes, reaching up to touch his face with her free hand. “It’s – Steve sent me, and Tasha, please –“

He lets her drop, and she coughs for a moment and then glares up at him.

“I am trying to rescue you, you ass. This is the thanks I get?”

“How do you know Steve and Tasha? Nobody knows Steve _and_ Tasha,” he questions.

“After they froze you last, Tasha ran away to –“ Darcy begins, cut off by a second, more powerful shake. “Can we talk and run at the same time?”

“I need to get something before I leave,” he says, looking like he’d rather ask her a few more questions.

“Of course you do.”

* * *

 

**_Argentina - El Ávila National Park_ **

“Looks too wide to be Darcy,” Tony warns, repulsors aimed. Clint has an arrow ready, and the two of them approach from opposite sides.

When they see Phil’s face, Clint drops his bow.

“Tasha, it’s not Darcy. I repeat, Darcy may still be inside the lab. You need to call off Big Green,” Tony rambles over the com.

* * *

 

**_Argentina- Red Room Laboratory, El Ávila National Park_ **

“Take this, and shoot anybody you see, except for – this might freak you out, but –“ Darcy presses her hand to his temple and pushes out images of the Avengers and her team.

“I am going to ask you so many questions if we get out of here,” James mutters, taking the Glock. “But before I go anywhere with you, who the hell are you? I mean, I remember you, but I don’t.”

“My name is Agent Darcy Lewis. I work for SHIELD, which was started by Peggy Carter, Howard Stark, and some of the guys from your team, among others. Natasha joined us when she escaped from Russia,” she explains, following him deeper into the lab. “What the hell are you looking for?”

“Small red metal box, around the size of a pistol case. Makes no sound and feels very light.”

A large stalactite crashes down between them, and Darcy gestures at it.

“And it’s this important to you?”

“It’s this important to everyone,” he says, and she believes him.

* * *

 

**_New York Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell_ **

“Did you ever tell Howard?”

“Which part?” Joanna asks, looking up at Nick. “No, I didn’t. He loved Maria, and to tell you the truth…our lives were all about keeping Tony alive for so long that I just couldn’t put Darcy in that kind of danger. She was safer if she wasn’t part of that family.”

“I’m sorry, I should have known. You made the right choice, for what it’s worth.”

“It wasn’t all selfless, you know. The Agents Lewis used to send me pictures.”

* * *

 

**_Argentina - El Ávila National Park_ **

Natasha watches helplessly as the Hulk jumps again. The sound of the impact echoes over the mountain, and she suspects it would damage her hearing without the Red Room enhancements.

“It’s _Phil_ ,” she hears in her ear, and the world goes fuzzy for a moment.

“What?”

“It’s Coulson, he’s lost a lot of blood, Tash,” Clint says. We need to get him out of here, now. We need Bruce.”

Natasha stares at her husband, catching sight of the tattooed wedding band around the Hulk’s finger, and jumps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said 6 would be up at lunch, and instead 7 is up at breakfast. At this rate we'll be at the end in just a couple of days. Kind of bittersweet.


	8. Lost

**_Argentina- Red Room Laboratory, El Ávila National Park_ **

“Found it!” he calls out as Darcy puts two rounds in the  next guard through the tunnel. After twenty minutes of this, she can barely feel her left arm  and she knows that she’s more pale than usual – they’re running out of time.

“Now can we get the hell out of here?” she asks, turning to look over her shoulder at him. That’s when she feels the blade slicing into her leg.

James fires a shot past her, but she doesn’t hear it.

* * *

**_Argentina - El Ávila National Park_ **

Natasha lands hard on the Hulk’s wrist, getting the wind knocked out of her for a moment. He immediately stops jumping and holds her up to his face.

“Spider. What need?”

“Hey, Big Guy.  You know I love you, right?” Tasha sighs in relief.

“Spider love Hulk. Hulk love  Spider. This not time for love-talk,” he points out very seriously.

“ I know, but I needed your attention. You have to stop smashing.”

“Star says smash.”

“Tony says Darcy might still be in there. She might need a doctor if she got hurt in the smashing.”

“Get Bruce,” he says, and Natasha is all the more in love with him for how scared he looks.

* * *

**_Argentina- Red Room Laboratory, El Ávila National Park_ **

“What kind of Russian uses  throwing stars?” Darcy asks incredulously.

“The kind that works for the Red Room. Do not pull that out,” James says, deadly serious, and Darcy nearly rolls her eyes.

“I’m not an idiot. I remember Steve Irwin.”

“Who?”

“What?”

“We need to get you out of here.”

“So much for me rescuing you, huh, Jimmy?”

“Don’t call me Jimmy,” he tells her as he lifts her  over his shoulder, careful not to bump the shuriken .

* * *

**_ New York  Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell _ **

“They’re not doing well,” Joanna remarks, rubbing her tattoo absentmindedly. “They’ve lost a lot of blood.”

“She’ll be alright,” Clive says, though he knows she’ll take no comfort from it. It’s the curse she bears along with her gifts.

* * *

**_Argentina - El Ávila National Park_ **

“He’s still breathing,” Clint tells Natasha and Bruce. “Tony’s flying him to the jet and then he’ll be back. It’s not looking good, guys.”

“How is this even possible?” Bruce asks.

“You were huge and green two minutes ago,” the archer points out.

“That’s probably the best answer that we’ll get for now,” Tasha shrugs as Tony lands next to them.

“Hey Cap?” he calls over the com. “Any luck finding another way in?”

“Not yet,” Steve answers.

“Okay, I’m sending the rest of the team out with Coulson, if you’re cool.”

“Whatever he needs, Tony.”

“You heard the boss. Hop on, kids.”

* * *

**_Argentina- Red Room Laboratory, El Ávila National Park_ **

James fights with one arm nearly as  well as two, having been trained to fight without the bionic one in case he should ever need to, and her weight is nothing to him, too, but it’s still a hard journey – he can’t jostle her too much more than is strictly necessary and she’s not easy to balance alongside the case.

She might not have a blade buried in her thigh if he’d left the damn thing  behind, though, and what kind of apology to Tasha and Steve would a dead teammate make?

He decides, as he shoots down another Red Room agent, that he will open the case if she can’t make it on her own.

* * *

**_New York Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell_ **

“Yes, Agent Romanov. I have a team on standby. Yes, the usual. Yes. A full explanation will be given when you arrive. Yes, Natasha,” Nick sighs, hanging up the phone.

“Barton and Romanov are furious,” Barclay guesses.

“They can be as angry as they want as long as they fly quickly.”

* * *

**_ Argentina - El Ávila National Park _ **

“I don’t even know where to look,” Steve sighs, leaning against a tree. Tony flips his faceplate up.

“What if they’re not in there?”

“We can’t have lost them. Darcy would find a way to…”

“Unless she never made it that far. The entrance on this side was completely destroyed,” Tony says, tone flat.

“I’ll go east, you go west. We circle the crater and look for anything that might be a sign of anything.”

“Right.”

* * *

**_ Argentina- Red Room Laboratory, El Ávila National Park _ **

He has no recollection of anything that came between freezing and beginning to thaw just after five that morning , but he does have vague memories of dreams in which he carried her out of the tunnels, and he tries to follow the same path. He has the feeling that he’s getting them lost ,  though.

“Darcy, do you remember –“

“Left.  Left, left, left,” she mumbles faintly.

“Is that one left or four?” he teases, trying to make her laugh, but he only gets a whisper in response.

“ I don’t remember.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This would have been up around 7 hours ago if the new post page had been cooperative. Ugh. I had to do most of my editing in HTML, so there might be weird formatting. I think I had an LJ flashback. *shudders*
> 
> Anyway, here it is!


	9. Bright Blue

**_Argentina- Red Room Laboratory, El Ávila National Park_ **

“Almost there, Lewis,” he murmurs. “Can you feel that? It’s warmer; we have to be almost to the surface.”

“No, no, it’s getting colder,” she sighs.

He glances down at his side, which is covered in blood. Leaving the damn blade in isn’t doing enough to stop the bleeding, but he has no idea whether or not there are medical supplies in the base that could save her, let alone where they are and if they’re still accessible. There’s no time to search, so he keeps following the path.

* * *

 

**_On Board the Wakanda 2, Somewhere over Africa_ **

Shuri, Olu, and Yejide pace in one large circle, over and over.

“Bast, if you can hear me, keep my sister safe,” Shuri prays.

* * *

 

**_Argentina- Red Room Laboratory, El Ávila National Park_ **

“Oh, no,” he mutters, leaning his head against the wall. “No, no, no. This can’t be happening.”

“Put me down,” Darcy sighs.

He does, sinking down next to her. They’ve reached a dead end – what they suspect was the exit is blocked by fallen debris.

“I thought for sure that we’d make it out,” she says softly.

“Me too,” he tells her. He props her up carefully, studying her wounds for moment before he makes his decision.

“How do you feel about living forever?”

“That’s a cruel question to ask me,” she laughs weakly, and then he opens the case and she forgets how to breathe for a moment. “Is that…”

“They initially synthesized five doses. One was used on a man named Alexei, one was used on Tasha, one on me, and this is the last of it. It’s always been kept in the same lab as me.”

“I can count, you know,” Darcy tells him, watching his face. “You skipped one.”

“That one didn’t end well,” he admits.

* * *

 

**_New York Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell_ **

“I’m trying, Shuri. Believe me, I’m trying,” Joanna breathes, starting to cry.

 Clive and Nick, seated on either side of her, each take one of her hands.

* * *

 

**_Argentina - El Ávila National Park_ **

“Hey, Tony,” Steve calls over the com, studying the wall in front of him.

“Yeah?”

“I’m standing in front of a pile of rocks, but there’s something off about it. Can you come take a look?”

“On it, Cap.”

* * *

 

**_Avengers Quinjet – Somewhere over Virginia_ **

“How’s he doing, guys?” Tasha asks over her shoulder.

“He’s taking the last pint of blood that isn’t one of ours, and he needs more,” Bruce tells her grimly.

“Unless he wakes up and tells us that he’s ready to join the team, we can’t load him up with anything else. He’s got both pints of O negative in him, and my AB positive is too much of a risk,” Clint adds.

“And the rest of us are contaminated freaks,” Natasha finishes. “I’m flying as fast as I can.”

* * *

 

**_Argentina- Red Room Laboratory, El Ávila National Park_ **

“I don’t know if this will work,” he says. He’s worried – the words tumble out in a rush, and he’s trying to remove the syringes from the case carefully but his hands are shaking.

“Why are we in the jungle,” she murmurs, and it’s too quiet, just like she remembers. She smiles when he looks down at her face.

“We were always in the jungle, Darcy,” he smiles back sadly. “Are you sure you want this?”

“I don’t want to die, James,” she answers, studying the bright blue serum.

* * *

 

**_Argentina - El Ávila National Park_ **

“I see what you mean,” Tony says. “Jarvis, when did it last rain here?”

“Two nights ago, sir.”

“These rocks shouldn’t be this dusty,” Steve remarks.

The two of them look at each other quickly and begin moving the debris.

* * *

 

**_Argentina- Red Room Laboratory, El Ávila National Park_ **

He has to pull the shuriken out and then do the injections in sets of two, one in each arm. Darcy gasps when the blade slides out, trying not to scream.

“This is the part that hurts,“ James says.

“That wasn’t it?”

“Sorry, Lewis,” he tells her, straddling her and taking a syringe in each hand. When he plunges the first two into her arm, the pain of the serum burns through every cell in her body.

“You were right,” she groans. “I’d rather have that knife back, I think.”

“Hang in there,” he soothes, and then he does the second set of injections and the world becomes sharper, louder, more substantial.

When the third set goes in, she feels an intense heat, and then –

_Shuri and Clint, kissing on Tony’s archery range. Joanna Vasquez crying, but in relief. Tony, but not - her sister. Her sister Natasha, in another universe, in love with Steve, and so blindingly happy. War. Blood, violence. A very tall man, dead. Too tall to make sense, but there is Tony at his funeral. A rich girl with a bow and a complex, running scared. Steve, covered in blood, and so much guilt among them. Tasha, talking to Darcy’s mother.  Bruce Banner, giving a lecture. A lecture. He would have loved that and oh, there’s Jane in the front row, next to Tasha. A masked man unveiled, and it’s the photographer. James in Steve’s uniform. A wedding, white and so much gold, somewhere…else. Asgard? Asgard, yes, because there is Odin, and there is…he can only be Loki, how odd, she hasn’t met him, wait, go back, one of these was important and –_

“James,” Darcy chokes, pressing a hand to his cheek and pushing as much as she can. “There’s a man named Tony, on my team. Tell him…tell him I…oh my god,” she gasps. Her fingers twitch against her will.

“Tell him yourself,” he says, dropping the empty syringes and squeezing her shoulders. “Come on, Darcy. You didn’t do all this not to take me home in person.”

“No, I think I…” she starts, but she trails off and he watches as her eyes slip closed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time, the fate of Darcy Lewis is revealed and everybody learns everything.
> 
> For those unfamiliar with comics, Darcy's visions included Earth 3490, Kate Bishop, and some Marvel Civil War events, such as the deaths of Bill Foster (AKA Goliath) and Steve Rogers, in addition to things exclusively related to this fic.


	10. Agent 108: His Death, His Widow, and The Aftermath

“Wake, dear one,” the voice says, sweet and sharp and so familiar.

“I can’t,” Darcy murmurs. “I’m dead now. I let you down.”

“Never. I have been proud of you from your first moment, Darcy. You must wake now.”

When she opens her eyes, she’s somewhat surprised to find herself in the white room again.

Bast stands before her, as a woman with long dark hair, or a panther with blue eyes, or Joanna Vasquez.

“You’re my mother,” Darcy murmurs, testing her theory. It feels true on her tongue.

“Yes, I am,” Joanna smiles. “But that’s a conversation to have when your brother is with us.”

“No, please, you can’t let him die,” Darcy begs. “He has so much to do first.”

“Do you see him dying before he knows?” Joanna asks, approaching the invisible bed and perching on the edge, next to Darcy’s left hip. “Close your eyes, and look for him.”

Darcy does, but it’s hard to answer the question – the sea of images of possible future Tonys doesn’t paint a clear picture.

“It’s okay, you will learn. May I?” her mother asks. Darcy nods, and then soft fingertips brush against her temple. The swarm of images immediately begins to lessen, filtering into one scene. Her eyes snap open.

“I’m not dead?”

“No, you are not dead. You’re in the hospital, in New York, and quite a few people are waiting for you to wake up. Three days is a long time to rest, given your new strength,” she answers sternly, but with twinkling eyes.

“I’ve been hiding,” Darcy admits.

“Well, I can’t imagine why. You’ve only disobeyed your boss, shot your boyfriend, lied to your best friend, and kissed your brother,” the goddess laughs.

“Thanks,” Darcy says with a roll of her eyes. “I really needed that.”

“You did. You are scaring them half to death, and for what purpose? To postpone a few awkward reunions? They have waited long enough. Come, sweet girl,” Joanna says, holding out her hand.

Darcy takes it.

* * *

 

She blinks slowly, her eyes adjusting to the light. She’s in a hospital room, just like her mother had said.

Clint and Shuri are sleeping on the floor in the corner, with the cubs in their laps. In a chair next to them, Bruce has passed out with his head tipped back, and Natasha has done the same with her face buried in his neck. Steve is stretched out in the seat next to them, with Jane on his other side. She’s got half of a pop tart on her knee, and Darcy has to hold in a chuckle at that.

Something brushes against her hand then, and she glances down. It was James’ hair – he’s in the chair closest to her bed, with his head on the edge next to her hand.

“Well, look at that,” she smiles softly. “If the Red Room could see you now.”

“He has been so very patient,” the goddess says. Darcy looks up at her and finds that she’s smiling softly at the pair of them.

“Where is –“

“Trying to see if throwing large sums of money around will wake you up any faster,” Joanna laughs quietly. “I’ll go tell him that he can put away the checkbook.” She squeezes Darcy’s hand and slips out like only panthers and SHIELD agents can.

Turning her eyes back to James, she slides her fingers into his hair and ruffles it gently, grinning when he jumps.

In seconds, Darcy will be surrounded by yelling, laughing, crying loved ones, but until then, she’s content with the way he grins back at her.

By the time Tony comes in with Joanna and Nick at his heels, Darcy is almost completely hidden by the panther in her lap and the crowd around her bed.

“Tony!” she shouts enthusiastically. “I have the worst joke for you later.”

“Can’t wait, kid,” he grins.

“Barton, let them in here, you’ve had your hug,” Darcy laughs, elbowing the archer. “I missed your face, boss.”

“Sucking up won’t get you a promotion, Agent Lewis,” Nick says, but he’s smiling and he doesn’t skip his chance to hug her.

* * *

 

Nick soon kicks everyone out and sends them home with orders to get at least eight hours of sleep before they come to pick her up in the morning, but first Darcy asks to speak to Tony and Joanna alone.

“What’s up?” Tony asks when the door closes behind Fury, eyes full of concern.

“I wanna tell you my joke,” she says. “What does our relationship have in common with The Empire Strikes Back?”

Tony thinks for a minute, and Darcy knows without needing to be told that he’s racing through every line of the film in his head.

“Well, it’s not Boba Fett,” he says. “I give up.”

“Kissing siblings,” she replies with a laugh. He stares at her blankly for a moment, and then he turns to Joanna.

“This is what you were talking about, isn’t it?”

“Joanna?” Darcy asks.

“He asked me who I was when they brought you in, and I told him that it was a long story that would have to wait until you woke up.”

“I’m awake now.”

* * *

 

**_Los Angeles, 1975_ **

A much younger Nick Fury stands in the doorway, holding a folded flag in his hands. It’s a bright and sunny morning, though Bast had always imagined this would come at night, in the rain, as if in a film.

“I’m so sorry, Joanna,” the director says – not the director yet, only Agent 39, but she knows what he is capable of becoming.

What good is knowing this, if it doesn’t come with knowing her own husband was dying somewhere, she thinks bitterly, taking the flag and leaning hard against the doorframe.

“What happened?”

“They ordered him to kill Tony Stark,” Nick sighs. “When he said no, they bombed the car. He got Maria and Tony out safely, but...”

“All my happiness gone because Howard refuses to hide,” she says, starting to sob. Nick wraps her in his arms, but she barely notices.

**_Manhattan, 1985 – Tony Stark’s First Night Away at MIT_ **

“Don’t do it, Joanna,” Clive warns her. “Edwin wouldn’t have wanted this.”

“Edwin is dead,” Joanna mutters, tossing back another shot. “And all I have left of him is a wedding photo and a scrap of cloth. At least Maria will still have a son when I’m finished. Tell Nick you tried to stop me, won’t you? I’d hate to see you in trouble for this.”

“Joey, please –“ Barclay tries, reaching out to grab her arm as she slides off of her barstool.

“Clive, I love you like a brother, and I will miss you terribly if it comes to that, but if you don’t let me do this, I’ll kill you, too,” she growls, knowing that he sees the panther in her by the way he sighs when he lets her go.

**_Later that evening, at the Stark Mansion_ **

Howard Stark stands with his back to the doorway, glass of scotch in hand, and she’s sure he knows that she’s there but the bastard won’t turn around.

“I didn’t come all this way to shoot you in the back like a coward.”

He smiles, or smirks, perhaps – she can only see one corner of his mouth, and he’s always tended towards smirking.

“I’m sorry to let you down again, Joey.”

“My friends call me Joey, and you stopped being one of my friends the day you put my husband in the ground. Did you know I was –“

“You were in the back row, in a blonde wig and a long black dress, and you never once cried,” he says, turning to face her at last. “Don’t you think I looked for you? Jesus Christ, Joanna, I’m sorry. I’m sorry about Tony and I’m sorry that the Russians think I can figure out the fucking serum and I’m sorry that your husband is dead, okay?”

“Sorry doesn’t bring him back, Stark. Sorry doesn’t teach that bitch of a wife of yours –“

“That bitch is my wife because of you,” he points out, pouring a second glass and sliding it across the table towards her. “Because the great Natasha Stark would save us all, you said, and then my son was born and you told me he’d die trying and just expected me to live with that.”

“Fuck you, Stark,” she says, taking a drink but keeping her gun aimed at him.

“Howard,” he murmurs quietly, and she watches as the anger within him reaches a boil.

“What was that?” she pushes.

“Howard. My name is HOWARD STARK,” he shouts, throwing the glass against the wall. “And you of all people cannot sit here and pretend you don’t know it, _Bast_! Did Edwin even know who you really are? Did he know your name is –“

She slaps him, hard.

“My name is Joanna Vasquez in every way that counts, _Stark_.”

“You’re as much a Stark as I am,” he seethes. “Or you wouldn’t be here.”

“I’m here because my husband died for you and your fucking son, Maria’s fucking son,” she yells back, struggling not to cry.

“Whose fault is that? I never wanted Maria or any sons of hers, and now you’re blaming me for loving him anyway! Did I have to hate everything in my life for you to understand that all I ever wanted was for you to –“

Stay. She knows the word is coming, and she can’t bear to hear it again, so she kisses him. It’s stupid and heartbreaking and she’s acutely aware of the fact that the safety is still on.

**_Washington, D.C., Three Weeks Later_ **

The test confirms what she already knew.

She’s old for this, but she could get younger if she wanted to. She could have a new life and a new name and a new face and answer someone else’s prayer if she wanted, but her heart hurts at the thought of it.

Nick and Clive stay and eat ice cream with her until Carson is over. Neither of them asks questions.

**_Office of Agent Michael Lewis, Washington, D.C., Eight Weeks Later_ **

“Hey Mike, are you busy?” Joanna asks, poking her head in.

“No, come on in, Vasquez.”

“Thanks,” she says, shutting the door behind her and taking a seat. “What’s this I hear about you changing your minds? I thought Rachel couldn’t wait to get out of here.”

“Office scuttlebutt gets around fast,” he sighs, looking old for his fifty years.

In truth, the rumor, if there was one, had yet to reach Joanna. She had seen a vision of Rachel crying hysterically after hanging up a phone, however, and with Michael alive there had been only one conclusion.

“I’m afraid so,” she says, trying to look apologetic. “That’s what I’m here about, actually. I think I can help.”

“I know you mean well, Joanna, but –“ he begins, stopping when she pulls the sonogram image out of her pocket and slides it across his desk.

“Eleven weeks. Mike, I’m not in any way ready to be a parent, and you and Rachel have been trying to adopt for as long as I’ve known you. Please don’t tell Nick you’re reconsidering retirement. Let it just be a crazy office rumor.”

**_The New York Hospital (Later New York Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell), 27 Short Weeks Later_ **

“Agent 23 and Ag – I keep doing that,” Nick huffs. “The Lewises are here, damn it.”

“Good,” Joanna nods, trying not to cry. “Great, that’s great.”

“You can change your mind, Joey,” Clive says. He’s got a cast on his hand and looks as exhausted as she feels.

“No, I can’t,” she sighs. “She looks like Howard.”

That would have made her happy twenty-five years ago. Now it only hurts.

“I don’t want to see them take her. Nick, will you…?”

“Of course.”

“Thanks,” she says, shifting the baby in her arms and kissing her little pink cheeks. “I love you, Abigail Vasquez-Stark. You’re going to have a new name and a new mom and dad in a minute, but I want you to know that I am always going to love you, okay?”

She hands her tiny daughter to Nick, and she doesn’t cry until they’ve left the room.

* * *

 

Joanna takes her hands off of their temples and sits back, looking thoroughly worn out.

“They kept the Abigail. It’s my middle name,” Darcy offers weakly, looking from Joanna to Tony.

“I don’t even…” he starts, trailing off. “Edwin Jarvis was your husband?”

“Yes. That was what he went under as. He was really SHIELD Agent 108, Edwin Barclay.”

“Barclay?” Darcy asks, startled. “As in Clive Barclay?”

“Clive is his younger brother.”

“And I was Abby Stark, for a minute,” she sighs. “Wow. I mean, I knew, but…wow.”

“Wow,” Tony agrees.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's still a bit more story left here, but the last 1500 or so words of this chapter are what first came to me and brought this whole fic, and I hope you enjoy them.


	11. Agents 3 and 93 Make Up, Agents 4 and 59 Move On

“It’s really not that funny,” Tony huffs after nearly three minutes.

“It is,” Clint laughs, trying to breathe. “You kissed your _sister._ Your sister! I can’t –“ he wheezes, starting to cough. Tasha grins and thumps him between the shoulder blades.

“It is a little funny,” the redhead says.

* * *

  


“So you kissed that guy, and he’s your brother, and in a different universe he’s Steve’s wife?”

“Uh huh,” Darcy nods.

“And the guy across the hall was your boss and your boyfriend, and you shot him.”

“Yes.”

“And that girl with the leopard is your husband’s sister. Where is he?”

“Nick said he was taking care of something. He should be here in the morning,” she yawns.

“You’re a complicated woman, y’know,” James says, shaking his head.

“So they tell me,” she agrees. “Do you want to go out sometime or not?”

“You might have to wait a while. I haven’t had a paycheck since 1941,” he answers with a smile.

* * *

  


In the morning, Darcy goes to Phil’s room before Nick arrives to debrief them.

“How’s the ankle, boss?” she asks timidly, knocking on the edge of the doorway.

“It’s been better. You shattered it pretty thoroughly, Agent Lewis,” he says, and then smiles. “I’m glad you’re not dead, Darcy.”

“I’m really glad you’re not dead either, Phil,” she says, tearing up.

“Come over here,” he gestures at the chair next to him. “Nick can come to us. How’s Sergeant Barnes doing?”

“Much better than I expected. He’s going to need years of therapy, but first I think he needs to relax and learn to trust. Every shrink he’s ever seen was manipulating him, so he can’t jump right into that.”

“I agree. Make sure Barclay builds a good rapport with him. He’ll probably be the senior agent on the case to close it out. I’m expecting a demotion.”

“Yeah?”

“Darcy, I never should have sent you out, but even worse, I shouldn’t have called it off once I had. I just didn’t want to lose you.”

“Well, we’ll always have Mr. and Mrs. Clark,” she smiles.

* * *

  


“Neither of you are bleeding. I’m calling this progress,” Nick says when he comes in ten minutes later.

“Good morning, sir,” they reply in unison, grinning at each other when they realize that they’ve done it.

“Good morning, agents. We have a lot to discuss, starting with you, Miss Lewis. Please give me an exact account of your mission starting with your arrival in Wakanda.”

It takes nearly three hours to tell the story while answering their questions and then to tell Phil about her parentage. After she’s finished, Nick nods and pulls two small black cases and a thick folder from his bag.

“Well, that all seems to line up with what I expected after I spoke to T’Challa, Clive and Joanna.”

“New badges, sir?”

“A promotion for you, Agent Lewis, if you will accept it, and a smaller demotion than I would like to give you, Agent Coulson.”

They open the cases and both of them smile.

“Thank you, Director,” Phil says, taking the Agent 4 badge out of the box and putting his old one in its place. “When you give this to Clive, tell him –“

“It’s not going to Clive. This is Maria’s now,” Fury says darkly. “She should have known better than to authorize trying to handcuff an agent on a mission.”

Darcy studies her badge for a moment and then closes the box.

“Nick, I’m not sure I can take this.”

“And why is that, Agent Lewis?”

“Well…the serum and the…my mom is a goddess. Is it…”

“Yes, it’s fair. You just spent nearly a year undercover, during which you fooled an entire nation, befriended Victor von Doom, rescued your man despite opposition from a superior officer, nearly bled to death, and willingly underwent a dangerous experimental procedure in order to complete your mission. You’ve more than earned it, and neither the serum nor your mother makes you invincible, Agent 59.”

“Thank you, sir,” she smiles, taking it out and putting the old one in. When she moves to hand the box over like Phil did, Nick shakes his head.

“Hold on to that. I’d like you to be there when I give Sergeant Barnes the job offer anyway.”

“Yes, sir,” she beams.

“What’s in the folder?” Phil asks.

“That’s the other half of the offer. Agent Lewis, how would you feel about joining the Avengers?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still to come: Somebody cheats at cards, Darcy gives T'Challa some secondhand advice about queens, Joanna receives a surprising invitation, and an angry redhead descends upon Phil Coulson, among other things.
> 
> So, at an obscenely early hour today, I pulled the names of the Ch. 10 commentors from a cup and decided to give them some degree of influence over the story. The first name was indynerdgirl, who has wisely decided that she wants to know what the heck is up with Clint and Shuri, which I love because there's some Yoruba and some archery and some Olu and some overt sexuality. In other words, it's going to be fun.
> 
> The next name out was chuppachups, so I'll let you know what comes after Clint and Shuri once we've conferred on that.
> 
> ANYWAY, if you haven't subscribed to the main series and you want to keep reading, I'd recommend that you do that soon because the next parts will not always fit into normal tags. Upcoming things WILL INCLUDE: Clint/Shuri fic, BAMF!Agenger Ladies meeting Kate Bishop while being BAMFs, Phil/A Woman Who Actually Likes Him Back, The Hulk-and-Spider elopement story, some Howard/Bast backstory of sadness and BAMFness and Probably A Lot of Sex, and a fic about 3490's Natasha Stark and Tony/Steve trying to make sense out of that.
> 
> I have no idea how this invaded my brain so thoroughly.


	12. Thousands of Years

“You are the only person I know who would just shrug and say ‘sure, why not,’” Darcy laughs as she lays down her cards.

“Yeah, well, I don’t have anything else to do and –“

A knock on the door cuts James off and then Darcy is smiling and waving the visitor in.

“Agent James Barnes, this is my husband, King T’Challa of Wakanda. T’Challa, this is James,” she says as T’Challa hugs her.

“Shouldn’t you be resting?”

“Super soldiers don’t need that much rest, it turns out. What took you so long?”

“Debriefings, press conferences, screaming matches with my stepmother and my sister…”

“The usual, then. Do you want to play? It’s only Go Fish, but Barnes lies, so it’s interesting.”

“Actually, I was hoping we could talk before they let you out of here.”

Barnes gets up and pockets his cards with a smile.

“I’ll go nag the guy with the hole in his foot some more. Let me know when you’re ready to go.”

“His name is Phil and you’re driving him nuts!” Darcy calls after him. T’Challa takes the empty seat, chuckling.

“He is not what I expected.”

Darcy smiles, studying her husband.

“You brought the papers, didn’t you?”

* * *

 

_“What if I die?”_

_“If you die, which I do not believe will happen, then I will lead Wakanda in mourning my queen.”_

_“And if I live?”_

_“If you live,” T’Challa promises, “I’ll tell the world the truth, or as much of it as I can, and then we’ll sign the divorce papers and I will count you among my dearest friends for all of my days.”_

* * *

“I did,” he nods.

“How much of the truth did you tell them?”

“Not much, really, and nothing that I thought I’d be saying. I told the media that we had discovered that your father is Howard Stark, which means that you own half of Stark Industries and a controlling stake in Wakanda’s economy.”

“I couldn’t be the queen even if I wanted to,” she realizes. “I have a multi-billion dollar conflict of interest, from a business standpoint, and then a personal one, because I might at some point have to choose sides between you and Tony.”

“Yes,” he smiles sadly. “Still, I’d hoped my second marriage would last more than two weeks.”

“I always thought that if I had a marriage this short, it would be some terrible post-Vegas annulment. This is better,” Darcy tells him.

“Fair enough,” he chuckles, and she knows then that they’ll be alright. He pulls the papers out of his coat pocket and hands them over.

“I’d like to give you some advice for your third marriage, if that’s okay,” she says as she starts to sign her name.

“Go on.”

“Well, when I was talking to Victor –“

“Doctor Doom.”

“ _Victor_. He’s my…friend-ish thing, or he will be, but that’s not the point. He made me realize that you keep marrying women who could never stand being queen - smart, restless woman who can’t sit still and be happy for ten minutes unless there’s some risk that they’ll be shot at or stabbed or something. Next time, you need to marry a girl who likes sitting on the veranda and drinking tea with your mother and the wives of your councilors.”

“You spent a lot of time drinking tea on the –“

“With Shuri, after we’d beaten each other half to death,” she says, glaring playfully. “That’s not the same and you know it.”

“I’m going to have a hard time finding a woman like that with half your spunk…but I’ll try,” he promises.

* * *

 

Darcy reads the card for a fourth before she picks up her phone and dials.

“Hello, Miss…what is now? You are ever so difficult.”

“For you, Victor, anything you like,” she replies. “Did you kill him?”

“Doctor Doom does not –“

“ _First-person_ , Victor,” Darcy insists cheerfully.

“Yes, he is dead, Miss SHIELD, and I will not tolerate any false surprise or attempts to make me feel regret.”

“You did what you had to do,” she agrees. “I just got your flowers.”

“That was patently obvious, given that you had my number. I will hang up this telephone if-“

“Why didn’t you tell me about the vibranium connection to the serum before I went to Argentina?”

“If you were the kind of person whom I should want to survive the serum, you’d have kept your ring on as you did, and if he did not use it or you were not…I told you, I was rather curious as to whether or not you would succeed. It is only a theory, as well, though I hope you will look into it further,” von Doom says.

“I will,” she promises. “I’ll call again when I know something about the Russian who didn’t survive it.

“Thank you. I’m sorry to hear about your divorce, by the way.”

“You are not.”

“No, I am not, clever girl,” he says as her team gets back from lunch. “You have company. I will go now.”

He hangs up before she can reply.  

* * *

 

“Hey, uh…Agent Vasquez?” Tony asks as they walk back towards Darcy’s room.

“You can call me Joanna,” she smiles at him.

“Right, okay. Joanna. Would you want to come and live with us? I mean, stay, for a while. You can say no or you can try it for a bit or whatever works for you, I just think Darcy could probably use it, and between us we’ll probably have a thousand questions when the shock wears off.”

‘And I need a mom, and you’re not mine, but you could have been and you’re why I’m here, and you’re the only person who can tell me who my dad really was,’ he thinks but doesn’t say.

“I think…I think that would be nice. Thank you, Tony.”

“I should warn you, though, I have this AI…”

* * *

 

“When am I getting out of heeeere,” Darcy whines, tossing herself dramatically onto the bed.

“This is so boring,” Clint agrees, throwing himself down next to her. “She’s obviously not dying.”

“They have to make sure she’s not any weirder than the rest of us,” Tasha reasons. She’s sitting at the little table with James, showing him the pictures from her wedding on her phone, which makes Darcy wonder…

“Hey, you guys never told me what happened while I was out of it.”

“We have thousands of years for that,” Bruce says cheerfully, leaning over her and Clint to try to reach his book.

“No, no,” Darcy insists, rolling on top of it. “Clint, help me out here.”

“What?”

“Lay on the book!”

“You’re on the book,” he observes.

“Yeah, but if we’re _both_ on the book, he can’t get it back.”

“He can’t shove you unless he hulks out, super soldier,” the archer reminds her, laughing.

“Unless he has help,” Steve grins, getting up and moving towards the other side of the bed.

“Oh crap,” Darcy shrieks as the two of them pick her up. Jane and Shuri start laughing just as the door swings open.

“What are you guys doing?” Tony asks, looking like he’s not sure he really wants to know.

“Torturing your sister,” Tasha answers, and Darcy and Tony share a smile at that.

“You can torture her in the car,” Joanna says, coming in. “The doctors say you can go. You’re a perfectly healthy demi-goddess super soldier, as far as they can guess.”

“Whatever that means,” Darcy laughs as Steve drops her onto the bed. “Let’s blow this popsicle stand!”

“Dork,” Tony says fondly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I seem to like 15-chapter fics all of a sudden.   
> Ch. 13 - Darcy goes home and takes up a much harder mission  
> Ch. 14 - Phil has a visitor who would sort of like to kick his ass  
> Ch. 15 - The Press Conference


	13. The First Step

When Darcy sits down on the edge of the bed and closes her eyes, the lights in her room take on a warmer tone through her eyelids.

“Welcome home, Miss Stark,” Jarvis says, and she smiles, remembering the absurd amount of space her signature takes up now. Darcy Abigail Lewis Vasquez Stark.

“It’s good to be back, Jarvis. Can you help me with something?”

“Of course, Miss Stark.”

“Thanks. Call Pepper Potts, please, and could you also schedule a press conference for tomorrow afternoon?”

* * *

 

“There you are. I was about to send out a search party,” Tony teases her. He’s got Yejide in his lap and a torn throw pillow in one hand.

“Looks like we still need to discuss panther-proofing,” Darcy laughs, and then Clint chokes on his beer and starts giggling.

“It was her sister,” Shuri admits, but Clint only laughs harder.

“It’s fine, really. I just won the Great Throw Pillow Debate of 2012 retroactively, though,” Tony says with a pointed look at Steve.

 Joanna winks at Darcy when Steve rolls his eyes.

“Sir, if you’ll pardon the interruption, a story fitting your parameters has been published on People.com,” Jarvis intones.

“Pull it up.”

The webpage replaces the New Year’s Eve coverage on the screen, and all of them turn to look.

“Jarvis, save that image to my personal server,” Tony says after a moment.

“Mine, too, please,” Darcy adds.

Under the headline “Wakandan Queen Turns out to be Stark Princess” is a photo of the two of them at the airport last February, putting their sunglasses on at the same time.

* * *

 

That night, the tower is a laughing, pushing, shouting tangle of Darcy’s friends and family.

It’s a monument to the genius of her father, built by her brother, who is sitting on the floor to her right and trying to pry the scotch away from Steve and James, on the principle that they can’t feel it anyway. In the opposite corner, her mother and Shuri, the closest thing she’s ever had to a sister, are speaking in fast Yoruba about life and death and gods.

On the sofa between these pairs are Tasha and Clint, stretched out at opposite ends and grinning at each other over their drinks like pleased housecats. To Darcy’s left, Bruce and Jane are having a discussion on their latest research into the science of Asgardian magic.

A year from now, Darcy thinks as she scratches the leopards behind their ears, Thor will be here, along with Victor, Clive, Phil, and Pepper, and there will be food that isn’t pizza and music that they didn’t throw together at the last minute, but for now, this is perfect.

* * *

 

Early the next morning, Darcy bumps into Steve in the kitchen again.

“Making an extra smoothie today?” she asks cheerfully, hopping up onto a seat at the bar.

“You brought my best friend back from the dead,” he grins, pulling a mixing bowl out of the cupboard next to the sink. “I think that deserves at least eggs.”

“What do I have to do for waffles?” she quips saucily.

“You really are his sister,” Steve laughs. “Get the eggs out and keep it in your pants, Stark.”

“I can’t do both at once, Cap,” Tony winks, strolling in and taking Darcy’s seat when she gets down.

Steve throws a whisk at him.

* * *

 

“Hey,” Darcy murmurs, stepping out onto the landing pad. “Jarvis said I’d find you out here.”

“Hello, dear one,” Joanna smiles. “You have questions.”

“Dozens,” her daughter admits. “How am I supposed to know what to try to change?”

“You just have to trust your instincts and allow them to guide you.”

“Oh, well, that sounds easy,” Darcy sighs.

“It is. You’ve already done it. Look at them,” Joanna says, taking Darcy by the shoulders and turning her back towards the window. Inside, James and Steve are watching the Winter Classic. Darcy can see that they’re yelling at the screen about a bad call, and it makes her smile.

“You gave them back to each other. Neither of them has wanted anything more in all their lives, and you did it, sweet girl.”

“This was just the first step.”

“Oh?” Bast asks, though she is not surprised.

“I think I’m supposed to stop the Civil War.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, Darcy Lewis Vasquez Stark, you do like to get in over your head.
> 
> Only two chapters left, which will probably take 3-4 days between updates because my finals are next week and I have a 20-page paper to write. Which I should have started in January. So. You know. After those are over, the rest of this 'verse should flow pretty quickly during the summer.
> 
> Next time - Phil gets yelled at, cried on, and hit with a purse, because he clearly hasn't been through enough.


	14. Explanations

 

As she marches down the hall, heels clacking furiously against the tile, she wonders what sort of mess Tony has gotten himself into this time.

The last time Jarvis asked her to go to the hospital was after Extremis. She had known, the minute she opened the door and saw Tony grinning at her, that they were over.

It wasn’t the running off to help another woman without telling her, or the nearly dying yet again, or even the nanotech coursing through his veins. What had really ended them had been the way he smiled at her and made a joke out of the whole thing, like she didn’t have any reason to expect an explanation.

This time, she’ll demand one.

* * *

 

“ _Pepper_?” he asks incredulously, blinking up at her.

She seems equally nonplussed, if the dropping of her purse is any indication.

“Phil,” she gasps, looking lost.

“Miss Potts, I –“

“Don’t you Miss Potts me,” she huffs, stooping quickly to grab her purse and then straightening back up.

“I –“

“I was at your _funeral_ ,” she shrieks, whacking him with her purse between words. “I _cried_. Tony made me take a week off because I was a _mess_ , and now you’re just…here!”

“I’m so sorry, Pepper.”

She sinks down into the chair next to him, thrown by the sincerity in his voice.

“Were you in a coma or something? Is that why you’re here?” she asks.

“Actually, I’m here because Darcy Lewis shot me in the ankle,” he replies, looking almost embarrassed.

“What? Jane and Thor’s Darcy? The Darcy Lewis who married T’Challa?”

“They had to get divorced this morning, because she’s Tony’s sister.”

“I have no idea what’s going on right now,” she laughs, and then she’s crying, too.

“If you have time to stay for a while, I’ll explain everything,” Phil promises.

She doesn’t even have to ask.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very short chapter. Sorry about that, but this needed a chapter by itself, I think. 
> 
> Next time: Darcy Lewis Vasquez Stark becomes a role model and starts a war. In other words, it's a Thursday.
> 
> Also, I added a timeline to the series, in case anyone has had trouble following my time jumps or just wants to review or know when a thing happened without doing a bunch of re-reading.


	15. How to Start a War

“Thank you all for coming,” Sitwell begins. “We called you here today because the Avengers would like to address some of the headlines that have come out in the last twenty-four hours. Miss Lewis will give a short statement, and there will be no questions.”

Darcy murmurs her thanks to him as he steps back and she takes his place behind the podium. The rest of the Avengers are behind her, with the exception of Tony, who is watching with Joanna from his lab.

“In regards to the rumors that I am Tony Stark’s half-sister, I would like to verify that. A DNA test was run yesterday, and Tony will be giving a statement of his own tomorrow, when we’ve had a little more time to process everything.”

“As to my marriage to King T’Challa…it is with deep sadness that I must confirm our divorce. As he said in his speech yesterday, I’m now a major shareholder in Wakanda’s economy and can no longer serve as queen. I hope that the people of that beautiful country understand that I love them very dearly, and that T’Challa and Wakanda will remain close to my heart for the rest of my life.”

“The real reason that we called you together was the rumor that I have been affected by the so called ‘super soldier serum,’” she says, taking a deep breath.

“It’s true.”

The cameras flash and whispers move through the crowd of reporters, many of whom are clearly itching to ask a question. She doesn’t give them the time.

“I’m supposed to stand here and pretend that I was accidentally exposed to it, but the truth is that it was given to me by the other recent addition to this team in order to save my life after I nearly died during a mission to rescue him from the people who synthesized this version of the serum – the same version that was used on him, as well as the Black Widow.”

On either side of her, James and Natasha each take a step forward.

“I am supposed to pretend that this was an accident, rather than a confrontation with a dark and sinister organization that has no regard for humanity, but I will not. We will not. If anyone from the Red Room is watching this, know that we are coming for you.”

“И мы собираемся убить вас,” James says.

“Все вы,” Natasha finishes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> И мы собираемся убить вас - And we will kill you
> 
> Все вы - All of you
> 
> Thank you all for being amazing readers. I get so much great feedback and you're never afraid to yell at me for sinking ships, which I love about you. 
> 
> The next part of this fic, as requested by indynerdgirl, will be Clint/Shuri centered. It will be called Arc, and will include: BAMF!Shuri, BAMF!Clint, T'Challa and Ramonda cameos, the beginning of Darcy, James, and Tasha's 'war' on the Red Room along with everyone else struggling to see where they fit into that, and the emergence of a special task force within the Avengers. It will also introduce Kate Bishop and (PROBABLY) the Fantastic Four into this universe.
> 
> I hope you guys stick around for it! The first chapter will be up by next Saturday at the latest, because my classes end Thursday.


End file.
